2026 is shaping up to be one of those years when recorded music sets the pace again, amid major comebacks, long-suspended promises, and the ever-unpredictable variable of live schedules, which can push back (or freeze) any release. Accurately predicting what will actually land on shelves and platforms is increasingly difficult, but the first coordinates are starting to come into focus with some clarity.
At the center of the rumors, inevitably, are the Rolling Stones. Just three years after Hackney Diamonds—an almost “short” gap by the band’s recent standards—Mick Jagger and company could return with a new album as early as 2026. The producer would reportedly be Andrew Watt again, the same one who helped polish their latest studio chapter, and the material would come from a mix of completely new songs and tracks salvaged from previous sessions. Ronnie Wood has gone out on a limb with rare confidence, pointing to next year as the release window. There’s still a question mark, though: any change of plans on the touring front could also affect the decision to put out new music, especially for a complex machine like the Stones, where recording strategy and live strategy often go hand in hand.
If the big names are fueling anticipation, the start of the year already seems set with a first wave of confirmed releases. In January, we’re expecting Secret Love by Dry Cleaning, The Demise of Planet X by Sleaford Mods, a record billed as Megadeth’s “last”—in every sense—and Tragic Magic, a collaboration between Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore that promises to move through the territory of emotional minimalism and a more melodic strain of ambient.
February will continue with an equally packed and wide-ranging schedule: Britpop by Robbie Williams, Cerulean by Danny L Harle, the Wuthering Heights soundtrack by Charli XCX, and The Mountain by Gorillaz, already teased with a surprise live unveiling—as often happens with Damon Albarn when he decides to get ahead of the curve with a theatrical flourish.
Among the bands that have been talking for some time about returning to the studio, U2 remain a closely watched case. For months, word has been leaking of an album at an advanced stage of production and, according to circulating information, it could include “One Life at a Time,” a song dedicated to Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen, a consultant on the documentary No Other Land: a detail that, if confirmed, would also suggest a more explicitly political thematic direction.
On the Bristol front and beyond, Massive Attack have promised new music tied to a new record label, without guaranteeing that it will take the form of a traditional album: more likely are modular releases—singles, EPs, or special projects—in line with the way many legacy bands now manage their relationship with the market and with creative urgency. Dave Grohl has also hinted that something is moving for Foo Fighters, without showing his hand yet: signals more than announcements, but enough to get the expectation machine running again.
In spring, one of the most significant dates could be High Noon by Blondie, produced by John Congleton (St. Vincent, David Byrne). The record will also carry the emotional weight of Clem Burke’s final recordings, an element that will inevitably give the release a particular aura, halfway between celebration and a passing of the torch. The new work by Tori Amos also has a title but no date yet: In Times of Dragons, described by the artist as “a metaphor for the struggle between democracy and tyranny,” a line that hints at a conceptual album and, likely, one steeped in the present moment.
Meanwhile, Madonna reportedly worked with Stuart Price on a project presented as a kind of spiritual “sequel” to Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005): a return to dance-pop in high definition that, if it hits the mark, could speak both to longtime fans and to an audience raised in the era of Y2K nostalgia. And keep an eye on Chappell Roan too, who may finally capitalize on the long tail of The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess with a true first “post-boom” record—the one that often determines whether a phenomenon stays a phenomenon or becomes a career.
Then there are the great serialized novels of contemporary pop. People are still talking about Coldplay’s latest—perhaps truly final—recording chapter; Rihanna’s ninth album, invoked for years and never pinned down with certainty; and, of course, Bully by Kanye West, a project postponed time and again.